The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus with the image memory including copying machines and printers.
Recently, as the image memory price lowers, the image processing apparatus that handles image data of copying machines, printers, etc. have been developed and popularized. Under these circumstances, a large number of image processing apparatus that detects regional recognition signals of image information to be processed and carries out image processing accordingly have been used.
For example, for conventional arts of the image processing apparatus related to the present invention, in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/136,929, there is disclosed a method and an apparatus for carrying out the high-accuracy recognition by obtaining the information on the macro region by pre-scanning before obtaining the printing data, recognizing the region from the layout information, and merging the information with the local region recognition during final scanning for obtaining the printing data. In this method, high-accuracy region recognition is possible, but has a problem of complying high-speed processing because pre-scanning must be carried out, etc. In addition, there is a trouble in that the resolution improving function is not supported when the data is printed out.
Furthermore, in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/138,284, there is disclosed a compressing method with region recognition signal merged with image data, but the image data and region recognition signal are completely synthesized and the method has a problem of being not suited for taking out the image region recognition signal only and correcting errors. In addition, in the compression method such as JPEG, etc., when high-definition image is high-compressed, a trouble is known in that the resolution is degraded more than in the case when the low-resolution image is compressed to the same data capacity of the compressed image of the high-definition image.
As described above, it is clear that with the apparatus indicated by these cited documents, when a specified image information is image-processed, it is difficult to highly accurately recognize the region unless the macro-region information on the image information is obtained. However, to carry out pre-scanning in order to obtain macro information, there is a problem in that it becomes difficult to increase the image processing speed as much as the time required for pre-scanning.